THE DEFENDER

by Adrienne Giordano

  “What?” Russ finally said.

  She put her hand over the receiver and got right next to his ear. “He knows I’m in here.”

  “Don’t worry,” Heath said. “I’m not in the store with you. I wouldn’t be that foolish. Tell the FBI agent I see him, too.”

  Heaven help her. Where was this man?

  She looked up at Russ again, focused on his dark eyes instead of the fear making her tremble. He stuck his bottom lip out—thinking—and rolled his hand.

  Keep talking. Easy for him to say. He hadn’t just been threatened by a psycho who’d decided opening fire on innocent people would be a good way to prove a point.

  A woman squeezed behind Russ to peruse the offerings in the bakery case and he inched forward, shook his head. She understood. A packed coffee shop wasn’t exactly a great place to have this conversation, but she wasn’t about to step outside and make herself a target. Again.

  Trapped in a damned coffee shop and she couldn’t even get any caffeine.

  Russ glanced into the hallway behind them, where one of the coffee-guzzling moms had just exited the restroom.

  He grabbed Penny’s wrist, dragged her down the hall, where her enormous heels clicked and clacked against the tile. Finally, she and Russ swung into the bathroom. The barely-big-enough-for-one bathroom left them a few inches apart, and the heady mix of his soap—spice and leather—brought the memory of Russ on top of her the day before, giant erection and all, to mind.

  Too close.

  She scooted back and bumped the toilet. Ew. Sideways. Only way to go. Russ must have sensed her discomfort, though, and, hero that he was, backed against the door to give her any available space.

  “Lovely Penny?”

  And how annoying was that whole lovely-Penny nonsense? Crush him.

  “Let me get this straight,” she said to Heath. “You want me to convince my client not to testify against you. In exchange you will leave her and her son alone. Why not just kill them both?”

  Heath laughed. Not that she expected him to answer that question. As an attorney she was ethically bound to report any crime she’d been made aware of. Worse, he’d been careful not to give Penny specifics about the threat he’d made against her. Yesterday alone she’d threatened to kill someone five times. Didn’t mean she’d do it. Right now, she had nothing worth reporting. Oh, this was a calculating man. He knew exactly where the line was.

  “My offer is on the table, lovely Penny.”

  “You realize if I try to talk her out of testifying she could get another attorney.”

  “She could, but people might get hurt. With this sudden guilty conscience of hers, she couldn’t live with it. But, alas, you won’t let that happen. Too many lives at risk. Yours, hers, the boy’s. Even your family.”

  Her family. She slapped her hand over her head, stared hard at Russ as a wave of emotion so raw and ravaging tore into her, made her skin burn. What would keep Heath from going after them? Her mother, her father. What about Zac, Mr. Predictable? He stopped at the same coffee shop every morning on his way to work. Every morning. Same time. Same location. One by one, this maniac could pick off her family.

  Gently, Russ set his hand on top of hers and squeezed. “Breathe,” he whispered. “Relax.”

  Closing her eyes, she focused on next steps. On getting this psycho locked up. Yes. That was what she’d do.

  “I understand,” she said into the phone.

  “How many lives will be lost, Penny? It’s up to you. I’ll phone you in twenty-four hours. Give me the right answer.”

  The line went dead and Penny sucked in a massive breath, and the tight walls pressed in and the shiny white tiles swayed and danced. The phone slipped from her fingers, clattered to the floor. She’d have to sterilize the thing. Or throw it out. Russ bent low, scooped it up, and she scrunched her nose. The germs alone... He hit the button, obviously to be sure the call ended.

  He shoved the phone into his jacket pocket and grasped her arm. “You all right?”

  “I may throw up.”

  “You’re in the right place.”

  She nodded because, well, he had a point there. Only, she didn’t want to be on her knees in this bathroom. Who knew the last time the floor was washed?

  The pattern on the wall behind Russ looped and swirled and Penny swayed. Massive head rush.

  Grasping her arms, he held her steady. “Uh-oh.”

  She leaned forward, rested her head against his shoulder. She needed a minute. Not even. Just a few seconds to let the dizziness pass and consider facing such a catastrophic situation.

  Russ ran his hands up and down her arms, a gentle reassurance that allowed her to close her eyes—only for a minute—and get herself together.

  Finally, she backed away, met Russ’s gaze. “You know he’s insane.”

  * * *

  “I DO KNOW THAT.” He squeezed her arms. “If I let go, you’re not going to face-plant, are you?”

  Penny scoffed. “On this floor? Not on your life.”

  A few minutes ago, her skin had turned that ashy-gray that preceded going lights out, and he’d take no chances on her smacking her head against the john and getting a concussion.

  Slowly, he lifted his hands from her arms and held them out.

  Only slightly annoyed at her own weakness, Penny waved him off. “He ordered that shooting yesterday. To scare me.”

  “He said that?”

  She nodded.

  He snatched his phone from his pocket and scrolled through his contacts. When he’d entered the shop, he’d had every intention of tearing into Penny for walking across the street alone. He’d told her the night before they were looking into the idea of either her or her father being targets and clearly she’d blown that off. She was damned lucky the receptionist squealed on her whereabouts or she’d be dealing with this Heath garbage on her own. In the middle of a crowded coffee shop, no less!

  Crazy woman.

  “Who are you calling?”

  “My office. I want marshals on you ASAP. We’ll get Elizabeth protection also. How the hell did he find out she wants a deal? And why the hell are you walking around alone when you almost got shot yesterday?”

  Penny’s face stretched into an appalled openmouthed gape. “You have lost your mind, Russell. I’ll go wherever I want. And I have no idea how Heath knows about Elizabeth. Aside from my coworkers, you’re the only one I spoke to about it. And I’m sure Elizabeth hasn’t told anyone. At least, no one outside her immediate family. And she’s so nervous, I’m not sure she’d have done even that. He said he’s watching her, though. Maybe he took a shot and got lucky.”

  “Yeah, well, that lucky shot just earned him extortion and obstruction charges to go with his landslide of financial-fraud issues. And if I can prove it, murder. The reporter died this morning.” Penny reeled back and he held up a finger when Guy Hawkins, one of his squad mates on the CID—Criminal Investigation Division—answered. “Voight here. Where are we on those marshals for Penny and Gerald Hennings?”

  “They’re on their way over. Should be there anytime.”

  At his hip, the door lever moved. Someone trying to use the john. “One second,” he said to the person on the other side. He went back to Hawkins. “Good. Thanks. Put me through to Everly.” Russ looked back at Penny, who stared at him with dead eyes. The reporter thing rattled her. Rightly so. “Trying to reach my ASAC. Voice mail.”

  Not a break to be had. He left a message. Only thing to do.

  “Okay,” he said. “We’ve got to get out of this bathroom. I’m not taking you out the front door. Who the hell knows where Heath is, but he had a view of the entrance. We know that.”

  “And what? We’re going out the back?”

  “I’ll have one of the marshals pick us up in the alley.
Wherever Heath is, he won’t see you leave.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “To find Elizabeth. We’ll stash her away somewhere. This guy is soiling himself over whatever she knows. And if he orchestrated that shooting, she knows enough to put him away.”

  The person in the hallway knocked. “Only one bathroom, chief,” a man said.

  Russ turned, yanked open the door and flipped his badge up. The young guy, the one he’d spotted reading a Sports Illustrated when he’d walked in, stared at the giant letters that read F-B-I and his eyes widened. “Oh, wow.”

  “Yeah,” Russ said. “Give us a second.”

  The kid nodded and Russ shut the door again. Sometimes his love of flashing his badge was borderline perverse.

  “I totally need an FBI badge,” Penny cracked.

  “It’s handy. You ready?”

  She nodded and Russ opened the door. Sports Illustrated guy looked at Penny, then to Russ and back to Penny again. His mouth curved into a sarcastic grin that Russ would have liked to pound away at, but hell, two people spending extended time in a single bathroom conjured all sorts of thoughts. Nothing he could do about that.

  Penny stepped into the hallway and jerked her head at the young guy. “All yours. Chief.”

  Nice. Why he was surprised at her sarcasm, he’d never know. Despite being followed, threatened and shot at, Penny Hennings still had fight in her.

  If he could get over the fact that she put criminals back on the street, she might be the love of his life.

  Penny stopped in the hallway and turned to him. She bit her top lip, then blew out a breath, and that was so not good.

  Ushering her out of the path, he leaned one shoulder against the wall. “You’re thinking. What about?”

  “My family. He could go after them.” Her voice squeaked like the last neglected wheel.

  No, no, no. She was not turning tail on him. Not Killer Cupcake, who never shied away from conflict. At least, not that he knew of. He’d worked too long and hard to nail this guy. Between the fraud charges and conspiracy to commit murder, this guy was toast. All they had to do was prove it. The widow’s testimony would help them win this. And he wasn’t about to let Penny—the defense attorney—wreck it.

  “You’re not backing down on me, Penny. This case is too important. We’ll get all of you protection.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “You think I’m backing down? That’s what you think? I happen to be tired. Doesn’t mean I’m letting that nutcase dictate how I should live, but I need my family safe. That’s what I’m thinking.”

  Could be he blew that call. Could be? With the cremating stare she gave him? Yeah, he’d definitely blown it.

  Sports Illustrated guy came out of the john, spotted them and averted his gaze. At least he’d learned his lesson about the beautiful blonde and her sharp tongue. He didn’t want any piece of her now.

  Neither did Russ. By his estimation, he needed damage control here. He nodded toward the guy. “I think you scared the hell out of him.”

  Penny rolled her eyes and boosted off the wall. “Don’t even try it, Russell. Admit you screwed up. Feeding my ego won’t replace that.”

  Sick bastard that he was, this could definitely be love. “I screwed up. Shouldn’t have assumed. And you know what else?”

  A noise from the café drew her attention for a second and her ponytail flew over her shoulder when she came back to him. “What?”

  Gently, he swept the blond strands over her shoulder, let the backs of his fingers linger a second. Maybe two.

  She shifted and he smiled at the punch of physical attraction. Or maybe he needed sex. Hot, sweaty, knock-him-sideways sex that he hadn’t had in way too long. Getting busy with a woman had never been a problem. Getting busy with the right woman proved to be a challenge.

  Penny Hennings—defense lawyer or not—might be the right woman.

  She shifted again, made snoring noises, and he ducked his head closer. Slowly, she lifted her chin, and if he pushed it, if he nudged a little farther, he’d be close enough to kiss her. “Yeah, you might be the right one.”

  Drifting closer, she blinked up at him, those big blue eyes questioning. “I’m sorry?”

  A shrill beeping filled the hallway. Phone. The boss returning his SOS call. He shook his head and let the annoying beep get him back in line before he did something beyond stupid.

  Sex with Penny Hennings. He’d never survive.

  Chapter Four

  Once in the unmarked car driven by Brent Thompson, her newly assigned U.S. marshal, Penny and Russ were driven to an FBI safe house near New Buffalo, Michigan, for crying out loud. Hey, boys, I have nothing whatsoever going on today—let’s drive to Michigan. Anything happening at her office would have to wait. It wouldn’t make her clients happy, but her choices were limited.

  They’d spent over an hour looping around the lake, and now, as they drove along this quiet road, miles and miles of sparkling Lake Michigan water laid a perfect path against a bright blue sky. It seemed all that water led straight to Heaven. She didn’t visit the beach often, but driving along this road, watching sunbathers and toddlers playing in the sand, the sunlight shimmering off the lake, all of it gave her a sense of calm she didn’t often feel. Maybe she should make more of an attempt to spend time at her parents’ lake house in Wisconsin.

  “You’re too quiet back there,” Russ said from the front passenger seat. “That scares me.”

  “Poor baby. Relax, Russell. I was thinking about going to the beach.”

  “I didn’t peg you as a beach person.”

  “I’m not. Might be time for that to change. Are we almost there?”

  According to Russ, Elizabeth Brooks and her son would be meeting them at the safe house, where they’d stay under guard of the U.S. Marshals. At least she’d be safe while Penny tried to figure a way out of this mess.

  She reached into her bag for her phone, then remembered Russ had taken it from her. Maddening, this man. He didn’t trust her to not make calls and literally confiscated the phone. Then he promptly removed the battery to ensure the phone couldn’t be tracked. Colin Heath had gone to great lengths to get her attention. After the brazen shooting on the courthouse steps, his being able to bribe someone at the phone company for her location didn’t seem like a stretch.

  Penny sighed and Russ spun to her. “Problem?”

  “I stink at being idle. All this doing nothing makes me twitchy.”

  “We’re almost there. You need to call someone? You can use my phone.”

  She’d already checked in with her dad before they left the city. Last he’d seen her, she’d walked across the street for a latte, one she never did get and still desperately needed. Her dad had promised to either move or cover her client meetings for the day, but still, she felt like a slacker.

  “No. Thank you. You have people watching my family, right?”

  He nodded. “I’m on it. Trust me on this, okay? You all have protection. If we find your family needs to be in a safe house, we’ll deal with it.”

  Penny swung her gaze to the back of Marshal Thompson’s—Brent’s—head. Smart man that he was, he kept his eyes on the road, pretending he couldn’t hear any of this conversation. “If I didn’t trust you, I wouldn’t be sitting here.”

  With that, Russ turned front again and didn’t speak for another twenty minutes until they pulled into the driveway of a white beach cottage with large, covered windows. The house didn’t look all that big, but she knew from her parents’ lake home there might be a ton of property behind it where the house cascaded onto the beachfront. Heck of a safe house. This baby had to have been seized during an investigation. She’d grill Russ about it later.

  A curving brick walkway led to the porch, but Russ jumped out, punched in the garage-door cod
e on the keypad and Brent pulled in.

  This would be Elizabeth’s new home until the FBI figured out how to save her life. Or maybe Penny would figure it out first. Either way, Colin Heath would be brought down.

  Brent killed the engine, and Penny, needing freedom, yanked on the handle. The door didn’t move. Seriously? They’d locked her in. As if she was the criminal.

  “You boys think I’m going somewhere?”

  “Nope. Waiting on Russ to close the garage door so no one sees you. Smart-mouth.”

  Penny hooted and—wow—it felt so good to laugh. Even if Brent had struck her as a little pushy and overbearing with the way he’d ordered her into the car at the coffee shop. She preferred verbally sparring with someone who didn’t confuse her—the way Russ did. She didn’t know what she wanted from Russ. She liked bickering with him, but sometimes she wanted something else. Something quiet and calm and...and...protective. She squeezed her eyes shut. Protection from a man. When did that stop being the plague?

  “Nothing to say?” Brent cracked.

  “Oh, I have plenty to say. And you and I will get along just fine.”

  Finally, Russ opened her door and she nearly knocked him over leaping out.

  “Head inside and stay there while we check the perimeter. We had agents clear the inside already, but I want another look outside.”

  Penny snapped to attention and saluted. “Sir, yes, sir. Why don’t I just wait here until you do your thing? Make it easier on all of us.”

  He held a finger up. “Even better. Don’t move.”

  Sure. Fine. What she needed was a barrel of gummy bears. Sugar right now would be excellent.

  The two men walked to the back of the garage to the solid wood door—no windows to be broken by would-be intruders.

  Ten minutes later, in the suffocating heat of the closed garage, the back door opened and Brent stepped through. He whirled his finger at her. “We’re good. Perimeter is clear.”